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Last Saturday, after many (way too many) months I finally launched the Lusty Slogger. It should have been completely ok as there were no issues when I took it out of the water last November. However, on Wednesday I went to check on it and get it ready for a sail this week end. To my horror the boat was 6 inches below the water line stripe and the cuddy and cockpit were filled with water. When I climbed on board to start bailing water suddenly began shooting out of the centerboard trunk. It appears that I had sprung a leak somewhere and the inner hull had filed with water and overflowed into the cockpit. When I climbed in the boat my extra weight had pushed the boat even lower into the water and now the centerboard truck was actually below the water line so it was allowing water to enter into boat. I couldn't find my electric pump so I quickly ran to the nearest Walmart and bought an 800 gallon per hour bilge pump. In the 20 minutes or so I was gone the boat had heeled to one side and only the dock lines were keeping it from capsizing completely. I ran the pump for the better part of an hour before I finally got the bulk of the water out of the boat. Obviously I could not keep the boat in the water so I had my brother in law bring the trailer down to the marina and we took the boat out. It took about 3 hours to get the trailer down and in that time the boat seemed to not have taken on any more water but truthfully I wasn't about to trust that. So out the Lusty Slogger came. Now, finding someone who can do fiber glass work is about as easy as finding Santa Claus around here. I had taken it for an inspection but the person I normally used was not able to do anything with the boat so I decided to chance it since it was fine in November. So, now, with the weather absolutely perfect I am boatless! It may take several months before the leak can be found and plugged.

But being a resourceful fellow I know a fellow club member who has an Oday 192 but cannot use it due to personal circumstances. I offered him the use of my slip, which is paid for for a year, if I could use his boat on weekends. To my complete surprise he readily agreed. So apparently I shall not be boatless after all.

Yeah

Quick Thinking! An O'Day is a nice boat to tide you over.
Best of luck finding that breach in the Lusty Slogger.

The boat has a double hull and I think that possibly the drain for the inner hull was loose. Sitting in the water for five days could have been enough to allow that much water to enter the boat. The only other place it might be is a crack in the centerboard trunk itself.

Oh well, a boat is just a hole in the water in which you throw money after all

yes ... any boat owner's nightmare is their boat having a leak. glad you were there at the right time before the situation got worse. my Dad had a similar experience. the Cheoy Lee 32 was sitting low, below the cove stripe, when he when to check on her. opened the cabin and the floor boards were floating. he pumped her out. cause: packing gland failure (the joys of inboards).

one option to find the leak (though with the double hull many not help) is to fill the boat with some water; grab some beer; sit and watch to see where the water comes out. don't 'over fill' the boat as you don't want to damage the hull and/or trailer.

if there was any water in the boat, and after all freezing weather this winter, ice may have expanded and caused the damage. do you know of any locations where water collects?

wdscobie wrote:yes ... any boat owner's nightmare is their boat having a leak. glad you were there at the right time before the situation got worse. my Dad had a similar experience. the Cheoy Lee 32 was sitting low, below the cove stripe, when he when to check on her. opened the cabin and the floor boards were floating. he pumped her out. cause: packing gland failure (the joys of inboards).

one option to find the leak (though with the double hull many not help) is to fill the boat with some water; grab some beer; sit and watch to see where the water comes out. don't 'over fill' the boat as you don't want to damage the hull and/or trailer.

if there was any water in the boat, and after all freezing weather this winter, ice may have expanded and caused the damage. do you know of any locations where water collects?

Freezing wouldn't have been a problem since I kept the boat in my heated garage all winter. I have an inspection port in the cuddy. I can put a few gallons of colored water in the double hull and see where it might run out. I am still thinking that it was the drain plug which wasn't as tight as it could be

I hope that you will be able to fix that as fast and easy as possible. That Oday 192 is not a bad boat either!

The Continuing Saga.

I pulled the boat out and took it to a fiberglass repair shop the same day I discovered the boat sinking. He told me he would get to it as soon as possible but it might be a few weeks. Yesterday I received a call from them and was told to come pick up the boat. They were going out of business, had not touched the boat and obviously would not be able to work on the boat!! Since he was always busy working on boats I don't know why he folded but I made haste to recover the Lusty Slogger because the first thing that went through my mind was the IRS and if they swooped down and confiscated everything in his shop it would be months or even years before I could get the boat back, if at all.

So now, I am starting from square one again. Finding someone in this area that will work on boats like this one will be very difficult. Around here if it doesn't have anything to do with moonshining or bear hunting few want to be involved!!!

Oh well. I will have use of the O'Day.

My thought is this. You are probably money ahead. If you find out where the leak is you are half way home. Working with fiber glass is not rocket science any one can do it. There is so much information out there it is almost over whelming. I don't how you feel about doing this from a physical stand point but I am sure there is a neighborhood youngster who would jump at the chance to learn and do some thing and earn a few bucks.

One more thing this could get you on the water a lot sooner.

The first thing is to find the leak. It could be quite simple. Like a plug that came loose but not out.

Pete

yes, what Pete wrote, find the leak. from there i'm sure folk's can provide recommendations.

fiberglass/resin isn't difficult ... it is just stinky and smelly

wdscobie wrote:yes, what Pete wrote, find the leak. from there i'm sure folk's can provide recommendations.

fiberglass/resin isn't difficult ... it is just stinky and smelly

Oh, you mean like me!!